Good news for those who wanted to sign up for a Google (GOOG, GOOGL) service, but refused to register for Google+ to do so: Google is ending the reign of Google+ as the company’s app-gatekeeper.
You’ll still need a Google account to tap into the best the web giant has to offer (like YouTube and Local), but the confusing and often annoying burden of Google+ is no more.
Google has yet to outright say it, but GOOGL investors who’ve been around for a while know Google+ was the company’s failed attempt to dethrone Facebook (FB) from its social network rule. Did anyone really ever think that was going to happen?
Not only was Facebook seven years ahead of 2011’s debut of Google+, but Google’s platform never made much sense to users. In fact, it was downright confusing. To this day, there are only an estimated 4 million to 6 million users who use Google+ as anything more than just as a means of logging into a Google app.
While Google+ is a failure, it’s hardly the only failure-to-launch owners of Google stock have seen from the company in recent years. Indeed, GOOGL is very good at failing.
That’s not a criticism.
In many ways it’s a compliment, as it indicates the Mountain View company isn’t simply playing it safe by following someone else’s lead. No, Google is willing to fail, as long as it does so on the cutting edge of opportunity.
With that as the backdrop, here’s a closer look at some of GOOG’s other failures, whiffs, misfires and lost causes GOOGL shareholders have endured from the company. Most of them were doomed from the start for one reason or another, but you never know until you try.
Google Glass: Technologically speaking, Google Glass was a marvel. Functionally speaking, however, Google Glass was a solution to a problem that didn’t exist. Sure, there’s always some sort of situation that could call for a hand-free heads-up display in plain sight that allows a user to keep his or her eyes focused on the world ahead. Be that as it may, even the company admitted back in January that Google Glass didn’t have the impact initially expected.
Nexus Q: Never heard of the Nexus Q? That’s not surprising. The digital media player was shelved indefinitely after early reviews cited its high-cost and lack of features, leading Google to just give them away to people with pre-orders. GOOG defended the decision to kill the Nexus Q by pointing out that the then-upcoming launch of the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 would curtail the need for Nexus Q. More realistically, Google likely realized the digital media market was already dominated by more recognizable players, and didn’t need the bowling ball-sized device clogging up the market.
Google Checkout: Yes, for a short while Google even put Paypal (PYPL) in its sights, introducing a shopping cart to serve as the middle man for online shoppers and merchants. But Google Checkout just never found its traction, leading GOOGL to shut it down at the end of 2013. The decision was a tacit admission that it was just never going to dethrone PayPal in that category, especially as the world was migrating to mobile connectivity.
Bottom Line for GOOGL
The moral of the story? Not everything Google does ends up making GOOGL a more potent investment opportunity. Sometimes the company just misses the market, or misses the point. So far, none of these failures has led Google to its deathbed.
In fact, enough of these crazy ventures have paid off well enough to more than offset the company’s failures.
Case in point? Android.
Few people recognize it, but Google actually acquired the tiny company that developed the Android OS way back in 2005 for a mere $50 million … after Samsung (SSNLF) rejected the idea. It wasn’t clear what Google wanted with the outfit or its software; this was before Apple (AAPL) began the consumer smartphone era with its 2007 debut of the first-ever iPhone. Clearly it worked out though. Android is the world’s most used mobile operating system, and has been a huge boon for Google.
Point being, Google can afford to fail every now and then, including with its efforts to make Google+ everything that Facebook is. The trimming of Google+ may actually make some of Google’s services more inviting again.
The flipside: Anyone who owns GOOGL solely because it’s developing driverless cars, delivery drones or balloon-delivered Internet service may want to dial back their enthusiasm. Odds are good at least one of those projects will be sacked before it bears any revenue. And yet, it doesn’t matter.
As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
